I had a really fun week. Monday, my Knitpicks needle points arrived. They're very nice and easy to use, but I have to admit, I've gotten very partial to my nickel-plated needle tips. I love my 60 inch cable - I use it for knitting "Happy", but it does pop out if I haul it up by the cable and flip it over. I'm careful picking it up. I figure it's the user. The cable goes right back in and doesn't act up unless I "pick and flip". I'm sure it wasn't designed for that. My bad, not theirs. Great system they've got (0ptions and Harmony). I love it love it love it.
I also got my goodies from the Woolery. Ooooh. I got 8 ounces of cotton-wool top. 8 ounces of Tussah silk noils - awesome for blending. Um. Cotton Hand cards. More on them later. And a learn to spin cotton kit. I've had some fun with that. I used the tahkli spindle to spin the tussah silk and the cotton, it works fantastic for both. It's my first bottom-whorl spindle and a great starter.
I also got my instant indigo, 4 ounces blending merino, and I think 3 ounces of unpicked raw mohair locks. The raw locks were only $1.14 an ounce, the fancy washed and picked locks cost $7 something an ounce. I decided for a $6 an ounce difference I could do it.
I kept thinking "Don't tease the mohair!" while I was teasing the locks apart and carefully placing them in a mesh bag. I washed them carefully in a 5-gallon designated "Laundry" bucket (it's great for hand-wash items) with a little Eucalan. I let them soak a good long while (I just ripped off the directions for cleaning raw wool and applied them to the mohair), pulled them out (all kinds of crud left behind in the bucket), and let them air dry. They look beautiful. I didn't hurt them, and since the zipper tab broke off that lingerie bag anyway, I'm going to use it for mohair storage. The great thing about using Eucalan is that it's no-rinse and it smells nice.
I've had a lot of fun the last couple days. I've been combining all kinds of exotic fibers. I started with the cotton hand combs (they are good for fine wools and exotic fibers like camel). I had a pound of camel, a half-pound of the newly-arrived tussah silk, and my blending merino from Paradise. Fun on a plate. It took me a few tries to get the hang of the hand cards but now they're doing what I want them to do. I spread a little silk, a little camel, and a little merino on the teeth of the cards. I do my carding motion. I pull them apart. I have a nice, well-mixed rolag (a roll of carded fiber). The rolags spin beautifully and the yarn looks great. I'm happy.
I did break the hook on my .6 Nordic spindle while I was playing with wool-cotton-silk rolags. I'm kind of bummed about that, but I can get a new one. I'm thinking I'd like to have a 1.5 ounce spindle with an attatched whorl. Kind of like my big Ashford student spindle. It's great. But it would need to have a notch, I love my notch.
But wait, there's more! I also ordered 2 pounds of mixed gray merino wool and some domestic blend top. I got 1.5 pounds of the top - and I love it. It's a cream with a little black, it looks very intriguing. I love the handle on it, it's soft and bouncy and fun and incredibly cheap at $6 a pound. I plan to use the indigo dye on it when I'm ready. OK. I like you this much, I got it from here: http://www.rhlindsaywool.com/products/index.htm I was delighted. It's like winning the fiber lotto. The gray wool is so much fun (but you'd hate it so don't buy any). I had a blast carding up a couple grams and it looks fantastic. But you'd hate it. You're allergic, remember.
I've been in fiber heaven. That's why I haven't been posting. I'm glad I'm the kind of woman who can have fun with $6 a pound wool, a hand spindle, and the Sci-Fi channel.
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